IRB SEVENS WORLD SERIES

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Kenya dash England`s QF hopes

Friday 07th December 2007

Kenyan ace Alex Ndangana

Kenya upstaged England by knocking them out of the Cup competition in Round Two of the 2007/2008 International Rugby Board (IRB) Sevens World Series, in George on Friday.

It was a shock 17-7 victory over England in match 12 of Day One in George that demoted England to the Bowl competition, while Kenya joined the big guns - defending champions New Zealand, hosts South Africa, Fiji and Samoa in the main competition.

Even though England had a change of salvaging their campaign in this Southern Cape town, they needed to beat the impressive Kiwi outfit. It looked like they might produce a miracle win, but a last minute try by teen sensation Israel Dagg secured a 26-24 victory for the Kiwis.

It was just reward for the Kenyans, who thoroughly deserved their second consecutive Cup quarter-final appearance on the back of a very impressive win over England.

The United States also made it through to the last eight of the tournament - at the expense of France and Canada in Pool B. For their trouble they will face New Zealand in the quarter-finals. The USA last reached a Cup quarter-final in the 2001/2002 Series - at the events in Beijing and Brisbane.

Hosts South Africa, who conceded just one try all day, Fiji and Samoa also topped their pools with unbeaten records in George.

South Africa face Scotland, who finished as Pool D runners-up behind Samoa, in the Cup quarter-finals. Samoa meet Argentina in a repeat of the Dubai Plate Final, while Kenya will face Fiji in the last eight.

Pool A:
(New Zealand, England, Kenya, Zimbabwe)

Kenya did very well to keep New Zealand scoreless for the first six minutes, but then a small gap opened after a turnover and penalty - giving the Kiwis their first score through Edwin Cocker, making it 7-0 at the break. Cocker also scored the second try for the Kiwis, but again it took them five minutes to break the stubborn Kenyan defence. A late score by Israel Dagg made the final score 19-0 to the Kiwis.

The England versus Zimbabwe game was the perfect showcase for the shocking standard of refereeing at the Sevens - the opening score, by England's Joe Simpson, coming from two blatant infringements by the English. The Zimbabweans appeared dispirited at this score and let in further tries by Andy Vilk and Tom Youngs before the break. They did make a comeback after the break and with just three minutes remaining Tangai Nemadire scored, but a Jack Adams score soon afterwards sealed the game at 24-7.

New Zealand started where they left off against Kenya with DJ Forbes and Israel Dagg crossing the try-line early for the champions. Zimbabwe showed some resistance but a third New Zealand try before the half-time break dashed their hopes of staging a come-back. Zimbabwe never quite looked like coming back into the match after that as New Zealand raced away to a 41-0 victory.

Innocent Simiyu got the Kenyans off to a spirited start against England when he dotted down in the opening two minutes. A Dennis Mwanja try put Kenya back in the lead at half-time, after Tom Youngs brought England back into the match. Some sublime handling by Kenya in the second-half helped extend their lead to 10 points. Kenya emerged deserved 17-7 victors.

A brace from Zimbabwe's Wensley Mbanje was not enough to upset Kenya in what was a tight Pool A affair. Collins Injera leveled the scores shortly before the half-time break to keep the Kenyan team in the match. This was followed by a superb effort from Dennis Mwanja, which temporarily put the Kenyans in the lead after the break. Mbanje pulled one back for Zimbabwe. But it was a case of too little too late, as Kenya's Peter Ocholla capitalised on an unforced error from Zimbabwe to secure a 15-10 victory for his team, keeping them in the main competition.

A hat-trick from teenage sensation Israel Dagg dashed England's hopes of qualifying for the quarter-final of the George Sevens. The English couldn't bounce back from their shock defeat to Kenya earlier in the day despite playing possibly their best rugby in the 2007 tournament. New Zealand came from behind to score in the final minute of the game to advance to the knock-out stage of the tournament at the top of their Pool.

Fixtures/results:
(Kick-off is local time - GMT +2)
Match 3: New Zealand 19-0 Kenya
Match 4: England 24-7 Zimbabwe
Match 11: New Zealand 41-0 Zimbabwe
Match 12: England 7-17 Kenya
Match 18: Kenya 15-10 Zimbabwe
Match 22: New Zealand 26-24 England

Pool B:
(Fiji, France, Canada, United States)

The Fijians also got off to a slow start, with the opening score - by Emosi Vucago - only coming in the fourth minute. Tomasi Mawi added another on the stroke of half-time for a 12-0 lead. Akuila Nawerecagi, who plays for the Falcons in South Africa, opened the scoring after the break - with Setefano Cakau and Viliame Maya adding another two to seal the game at 29-0.

It was fitting that Eagles flyer Takudzwa Ngwenya, one of the stars of the 15-man World Cup, scored the opening try for the United States - using his pace as the ball was hacked through. It gave the US a 7-0 lead at the break. Riaan Hamilton scored early in the second half and at 14-0 ahead the Eagles looked strong. However, a quick score by Joffrey Michel - a counter from deep inside French territory - opened the game. Loic Mazieres scored with a minute to play, but the conversion went wide and the Eagles held on for a 14-12 win.

Fiji continued their dominance in Pool B, scoring three first-half tries with minimal effort. Justin Hundley gave the USA a glimmer of hope with a late first-half try. But Emosi Vucago scored his second try of the tournament early in the second-half to extend Fiji's lead and in doing so putting the matter beyond dispute. Vucago scored his second try of the match late in the game further extending his team's lead to 40-7. Viliame Maya put the final nail in the USA coffin when he scored his second try of the match to secure a 47-7 victory for the Fijians.

After a slow start from both teams Rob Turk broke the ice when he put Canada in the lead with the opening try of the match, but France soon hit back with two tries to snatch the lead from Canada. France led at half-time although the display of rugby was hardly pretty. Vincent Roux extended the French lead before Phil MacKenzie brought Canada within just three points of France. But poor tackling allowed France to walk away with a comfortable 24-14 win.

There was very little to separate Canada from the USA in their final Pool B clash at the George Sevens with Chris Wyles (USA) and Phil MacKenzie (Canada) scoring a try apiece in the first half. A moment of inspiration from Zimbabwean wing Takudzwa Ngwenya gave the USA the lead just seconds after setting foot on the field and a Dallen Stanford score sealed a 15-5 USA victory.

Fixtures/results:
(Kick-off is local time - GMT +2)
Match 5: Fiji 29-0 Canada
Match 6: France 12-14 USA
Match 13: Fiji 47-7 USA
Match 14: France 24-14 Canada
Match 19: Canada 5-15 USA
Match 23: Fiji v France - 20.08

Pool C:
(South Africa, Wales, Argentina, Uganda)

South Africa were in trouble early on when Renfred Dazel was yellow-carded for a high tackle. However, Pablo Gomez Cora was also carded for repeated infringements and it allowed Fabian Juries to open the scoring - giving the Springboks a 7-0 lead at the break. Juries scored a second as the Boks made a strong start to the second half, leaving the Pumas to chase the game at 14 points down. Dazel made good for his earlier indiscretion with South Africa's third try and at 19-0 ahead the game was safe.

The Pumas finally got a score - a penalty try - as Bok captain Neil Powell was yellow carded for a professional foul. Home-town hero Kabamba Floors rounded off the scoring for a 24-7 victory.

The Welsh looked far too strong for minnows Uganda, racing to an early 14-0 lead through tries by Lee Williams and James Harris. But a string of penalties saw the rest of the first half become a stop-start affair. Second-half scores by Martin Roberts, Dafydd Hewitt, James Lewis and James Merriman saw the Welsh race to a comfortable 38-0 victory.

South Africa raced to a 17-0 lead with three elementary tries in the first seven minutes. The skillful Fabien Juries got his name on the score-sheet twice. Leopards wing Vuyo Zangqa put on a sterling second-half display, scoring his brace for the match. The slick Springbok handling and clinical finishing was just too much for the Ugandans, as the home team raced to a 41-0 victory.

Wales and Argentina got off to a slow start in their Pool B fixture, but two converted tries by Argentina secured a 14-5 half-time lead. Agustin Gosio stretched the Pumas lead to 19-5. Adrian Cherro made a superb run from deep in Argentine territory to seal the first victory for his team in Pool C.

Argentina booked a place in the quarter-finals with an emphatic 38-7 win over Uganda in their penultimate Pool C game.

South Africa, spearheaded by Springbok Sevens veteran Fabian Juries, put on another sterling display to finish at the top of Pool C when they beat Wales in the last game of the evening. Juries got the scoring underway, while Renfred Dazel extended the lead to 12 points at half-time. Niel Powell and Juries added salt to Wales' wounds in the second-half to qualify for another George quarter-final.

Fixtures/results:
(Kick-off is local time - GMT +2)
Match 7: South Africa 24-7 Argentina
Match 8: Wales 38-0 Uganda
Match 15: South Africa 41-0 Uganda
Match 16: Wales 12-24 Argentina
Match 20: Argentina 38-7 Uganda
Match 24: South Africa 31-0 Wales

Pool D:
(Samoa, Australia, Scotland, Tunisia)

Scotland took an early lead against Samoa, when Colin Gregor hacked through a loose pass and followed up to score. However, the Samoans hit back with three tries of their own before the break - two of those going to star playmaker Uale Mai. Three further scores after the break sealed the 38-7 rout.

The Aussies dominated the first half and tries by James Lew and Damon Murphy saw them take a 12-0 lead into the break. Lotfi Nino pulled one back for the Africans early in the first half and Khaled Zegden then scored a second to draw level with time running out. However, Tunisia missed the conversion - which saw the game end level at 12-all.

Samoa found themselves playing catch-up throughout an exciting first-half which saw two tries apiece for both teams and the Islanders trailed 14-12 at half-time. The Samoans took the lead for the first time in match when Mikaele Pesamino scored the opening second-half try. The Tunisians struggled to fight back and Samoa ran out 22-14 victors following two unanswered tries in the second seven minutes.

Chris Fusaro got Scotland off to another flying start when he scored the opening try after just 20 seconds. But the Australians hit back minutes later through Scott Higginbotham, but a failed conversion attempt left his team trailing 7-5 at the break. Anthony Sauer finished off some more neat handling to give Australia a 10-7 lead in the second-half. But two late second-half tries from Scotland put the matter beyond dispute. Australia lost 21-10.

Two inspired chip-and-chase tries by Colin Gregor helped Scotland into the George Sevens quarter-finals after brave Tunisia drew first blood in their crucial Pool D encounter. At 21-7 there seemed very little hope for Tunisia but a late second-half try from Mohamed Yousri Souguir kept the Africans in the match. However, it was not to be the minnows, who wasted one final opportunity to level the scores after the hooter. The Scots eventually won the match 21-14.

Samoa showed some ominous try-scoring form against Australia, sounding a firm warning to the other teams in George tournament. While the hapless Australians were particularly poor on defence, Samoa were most clinical in their finishing. A late first-half yellow card levelled the playing field somewhat with Australia exploiting the numerical advantage to launch a brief fight-back. A third try from Alafoti Fa'osiliva sealed a Samoan victory though, but only just, as the Australians refused to give up. The final score was 21-20 and Samoa finished top of Pool D

Fixtures/results:
(Kick-off is local time - GMT +2)
Match 1: Samoa 38-7 Scotland
Match 2: Australia 12-12 Tunisia
Match 9: Samoa 22-14 Tunisia
Match 10: Australia 10-21 Scotland
Match 17: Scotland 21-14 Tunisia
Match 21: Samoa 21-20 Australia

Day Two - Schedule:
(Kick-off is local time - GMT +2)

Bowl quarter-finals:
Match 25: England v Canada - 10.14
Match 26: Australia v Uganda - 10.36
Match 27: Wales v Tunisia - 10.58
Match 28: France v Zimbabwe - 11.20

Cup quarter-finals:
Match 29: New Zealand v USA - 11.42
Match 30: Samoa v Argentina - 12.04
Match 31: South Africa v Scotland - 12.26
Match 32: Fiji v Kenya - 12.48

Shield semi-finals:
Match 33: Loser M25 v Loser M26 - 13.45
Match 34: Loser M27 v Loser M28 - 14.07

Bowl semi-finals:
Match 35: Winner M25 v Winner M26 - 14.29
Match 36: Winner M27 v Winner M28 - 14.51

Plate semi-finals:
Match 37: Loser M29 v Loser M30 - 15.13
Match 38: Loser M31 v Loser M32 - 15.35

Cup semi-finals:
Match 39: Winner M29 v Winner M30 - 15.57
Match 40: Winner M31 v Winner M32 - 16.19

Shield Final:
Match 41: Winner M33 v Winner M34 - 17.15

Bowl Final:
Match 42: Winner M35 v Winner M36 - 17.40

Plate Final:
Match 43: Winner M37 v Winner M38 - 18.05

Cup Final:
Match 44: Winner M39 v Winner M40 - 18.30